Pope Benedict XVI defrocked three former Boston priests who faced accusations of sexual abuse or soliciting a minor, the Archdiocese of Boston said on Friday.

Frederick Cartier, Louis Govoni and Frederick Guthrie "may no longer function in any capacity as priests, with the exception of offering absolution to the dying," said the Archdiocese of Boston statement.

Cartier was ordained in 1963 but left the ministry in 1980. He faced accusations in 2002 of sexually abusing a minor in the early 1970s, the church said.

Govoni, ordained in 1972, also faced accusations of sexually abusing a minor in the 1970s. He had been absent from the ministry since 1978, it said.

Guthrie, ordained in 1962, took leave from the Archdiocese in July 2001 and later pleaded guilty to charges of using a computer to solicit a minor, the church said.

The priest sex abuse scandal, which has rocked the Roman Catholic church worldwide, first erupted in Boston nearly a decade ago.